The Sims 2: Castaway review

We pick berries, build maracas and repeat until the party gets started

Pros

Conquering nature

Completing your goals

If Sims games are your thing

Cons

Picking berries

Picking up wood

Doing those things again

Life on a deserted island is a bit more adventurous than the ordinary drudgery most sims are forced to live through over and over again. It's understandable, then, why they throw fits over the size of their bed or the color of the wallpaper. The sims are less prissy now that they have to find a way to survive on the island with only a pocketknife and a roll of toilet paper. Sims 2: Castaway takes the adventure game feeling to heart and adds a journal that gives you a feeling of progress, some exciting island discoveries and over-the-shoulder direct control of your sim.

The beginning of the game starts with one sim and an ever-expanding list of thing to do. You'll start by spending a lot of time gathering berries, palm tree leaves, driftwood and whatever. And it is a lot of time - this is a simulation after all. Eventually, you'll locate the other crewmates stranded on the island and build 'til your island home becomes a virtual Club Med, but it takes carefully scheduling how to go to the bathroom every 20 minutes, work and repetition.

More Info

Genre

Simulation

Description

More plot-oriented than other Sims titles, it seems suspiciously similar to Lost, with your Sims washing up on an island and having to deal with mysterious 'other' Sims.